Sarens’ Post

“In this project, Galois has developed a high-assurance, safety-critical demonstration system for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission using Rigorous Digital Engineering (RDE). The system in question is a Digital Instrumentation and Control (DI&C) system for Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), and is called the Reactor Trip System (RTS).” I’m reading this fantastic report by Joseph Kiniry and team. You should too! #RDE #RigorousDigitalEngineering #NuclearPower https://lnkd.in/grNBXxjN

My style of editing the news https://lnkd.in/e2-URXpi

This has some useful NRC links.

Time, money, and bureaucracy could influence the decision to build the First Of A Kind (FOAK) SMR (Small Modular Reactor) far from the UK border. Great Britain Nuclear (GBN), an independent entity affiliated with the UK government that oversees and funds new nuclear projects, is in the process of selecting which SMR to support from a shortlist of six proposals: - Rolls-Royce SMR (favorite winner) - Nuward Consortium (EDF, Naval Group, TechnicAtome, Framatome, and Tractebel) - BWRX-300 GE-Hitachi - SMR-300 Holtec Britain - VOYGR NuScale - AP 300 Westinghouse Currently, GBN is still in the process of finalizing a concrete plan for the future and making a commitment to the design and realization of the FOAK UK SMR. However, other European countries such as Poland, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic appear more eager to invest in this new technology, given its promising features (Size, Modularity, Deployment, Affordability, Safety, and Licensing). SMRs offer a potential solution for bringing clean energy anywhere in the world. I hope for a strong commitment from all our governments to embrace these new technologies. With over 70 SMRs in development and some already operational in China and Russia, the potential is very promising. I am super proud to see the inclusion of an Italian SMR, the LFR-AS-200 (developed by newcleo srl, Italy), in the list of innovative designs featured in the SMR booklet issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), below is the link to the booklet. https://lnkd.in/e7H2Kbwg

The runaway high yield of the Castle Bravo detonation severely damaged or destroyed many of the buildings and instrumentation for collecting diagnostic data. These buildings were located on the control site (island) located on the far side of the atoll, a presumed safe area. As a result, very little data was collected. Castle Bravo was a ground burst nuclear test. This made for a very "dirty" detonation that produced a large amount of radioactive fallout that spread over a wide area that was further enhanced by a major wind shift and the larger than expected yield of 15 megatons. https://lnkd.in/gDeKKxYA

Commission opens in-depth State aid investigation into Belgian support for lifetime extension of two nuclear reactors "While the Belgian measure appears justified, at this stage, the Commission has doubts as to its compatibility with EU State aid rules and has therefore decided to open an in-depth investigation. In particular, the Commission will further investigate: - The necessity of the additional financial support mechanisms on top of the CfD, in particular the creation of the joint-venture and its financing, as well as of the operating cashflow guarantee and the €580 million loan; - The appropriateness of the CfD design and the combination of financial and structural arrangements as they may unduly relieve the beneficiaries from too big a share of the market and operational risks; - The proportionality of the combination of financial and structural arrangements and of the €15 billion lumpsum; Compliance with relevant EU sectoral legislation, in particular concerning the design of the CfD mechanism; and - The impact of the measure on the market in light of the CfD design and the selection and independence of the agent selling the nuclear electricity. The opening of the in-depth investigation gives Belgium and interested third parties an opportunity to submit comments. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation". #nuclear #stateaid #publicconsultation #energypolicy #energylaw https://lnkd.in/ea2ESaCp

European Commission approves national State Aid for construction of nuclear power plant in Czechia... "The Court of Justice has clarified that, in line with Article 194(2) TFEU, Member States may determine the conditions for exploiting their energy resources, their choice between different energy sources and the general structure of their energy supply, which does not preclude that choice from being nuclear energy." "Under EU State Aid rules, the Commission analyses the compatibility of the measure under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, which enables Member States to support the development of certain economic activities. The support should remain necessary and proportionate and not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest..." "The beneficiary of the measure is Elektrárna Dukovany II (‘EDU II'), a fully owned subsidiary of the ČEZ Group, the only nuclear power plant operator in Czechia. Czechia plans to grant direct price support in the form of a power purchasing contract with a State-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (‘SPV'). The contract will ensure stable revenues for the nuclear power plant for a period of 40 years. The beneficiary will also benefit from a subsidised State loan to cover a majority of the construction costs and a protection mechanism against unforeseen events or policy changes that may make the realisation of the project impossible..." [All of these elements could be evaluated using transfer pricing techniques against arm's length benchmarks.] Interestingly the approved State Aid package also includes i) an OTC long term fixed-floating electricity price swap derivative (styled as a Contract for Difference or CfD) with c.40 years of annual payments and ii) some form of excess payment claw-back mechanism (e.g. a dynamic cap applied in arrears) and iii) a commitment for at least 70% of open market sales and the rest sold through transparent auctions. (N.B. Of course the history of derivatives disputes shows that such long term swaps can be highly prone to derivatives mis-selling and mis-pricing, and the history of competition disputes shows that high value auctions can be inherently vulnerable to manipulation and bid-rigging, so due care will need to be taken by all parties going forwards.)

Another paper on SSRN

I recommend that recent document RESEARCH ON THE DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF HIGH-SPEED TRAINS UNDER DIFFERENT CURVE RADII CAUSED BY WIND–SAND FLOW https://lnkd.in/e68c9bXF

Positive backing for more nuclear - good news! The newsletter has a bit more info about the recent consultations as well as other juicy energy and infrastructure updates.